We are now deep into the Coronavirus pandemic and yet we still don’t know if we any closer to the end. The truth is that no one any longer calls it a flu or a hoax, as leaders finally scramble and try to deal with the crisis. We are also quickly coming to terms with, that no matter what we believed or read, the spread of Coronavirus is global and that we will have to deal with it in a united way in order to beat it. We will have to share information, data and in the end medical staff to the worst affected areas. Yes, instead of armies and weapons we will be sending medical equipment and medical professionals to assist our neighbour otherwise we would not solve our own problems.
Only by beating Coronavirus worldwide will we be able to focus on the economy which is currently close to a standstill. This crisis will also remind us now and in the future that the economy is made and depends on people and if people can’t travel, socialize, study or work then the economy quickly slows down to almost a complete shutdown. We often think of the economy as being stand-alone and robust, while the truth is that it’s a very volatile and fragile eco-system. It’s really just one cough or one disaster away from slowdown or worse to shut down. It was virtually a week away from going from bull to bear or growth to recession.
We need to make our economies stronger, more long-term focused, more inclusive and in the end, healthier. We need to stop thinking of our economy as being made up of financial quarters or linking its health and stability to the stock markets. We need to link our economies to the people and the health and happiness of our people. We need to make decisions as Governments, CEO’s, and as consumers, based on keeping our economies healthy by ensuring that what we do today improves our lives in the future, thereby improving our economies as well. This is sustainability. We need to lead better, manage better and consume better and ensure that all these tasks preserve our planet and create shared wealth for all people therefore the whole economy. This is sustainability. We need to ensure we don’t have people with nothing to lose or others with everything to lose. Only a balanced, long-term focused and sustainable economy can offer us this possibility.
We must accept now and going forward that we are not islands but that we are intertwined and instead of seeing this as a disadvantage we will have to use it as an advantage. No more blame, no more feeling superior, no more lies, no more fear mongering but instead a unity based on respect and cooperation. Only when we work together, using diverse talents in open markets do we stand a chance of building this new economy. We have to only look back a few years ago to see how short-term and unsustainable it was to our world economy we were by being selfish, nationalistic and leading by fear. It moves us closer to war, breaks down trust barriers and exposes us all to unknown risks.
We need people in the future who are more involved in their economies by taking part in elections, in order to elect leaders with ethics and values, people that are working to live and not living to work, consumers purchasing responsibly and all of us treating our earth as our treasure. Only then can we confront the challenges this crisis will leave us and more importantly the challenges of future challenges that will come. I urge you to play your part by drawing up your own personal business plan, become healthier and happier with less money but more emotional and physical wealth. We have understood our fragility, we are not masters of the universe and we need to believe and hope in something bigger than green numbers going up or red numbers going down. We need to have a happiness and self-fulfilment stock exchange that is less volatile and more sustainable than the DOW.
This crisis will pass, the world will change but let’s make sure the changes are for the better not more restrictive, controlling or more fear based. That would be the easy way, but the hard and better way requires us all to get involved and suffer short term to benefit long term.
Stay Safe, Strong and Brave.